Welcome Home
by glaceon
Summary: Ash never spoke much about his family. Everyone had met his mother – she'd made sure of that. But no one knew much about the rest of his family. A universe in which Ash Ketchum's family is finally revealed. Multiverse, AU — pokeshipping & originalshipping
1. one

"So... every two years, Pallet Town has this _thing_."

One confused copper eyebrow was raised in response. "A 'thing'?" Misty retorted before folding her arms.

Ash sighed dejectedly from his end of the video call, loud enough to be audible over the hustle and bustle of the Pokémon Centre. "Yeah. A thing. It's kind of like a festival? But more... quiet, I guess. People don't really know about it. At all. But it's in five days and uh..."

Misty sighed and shook her head as Ash continued rambling nervously.

"I mean, most of the people in Pallet are recluses. They don't go to Viridian's big carnival every year. They just hold a little one, with all their family and friends every two years. Oh, and everyone is invited – like, all of Pallet goes to this thing. They're allowed to ask their friends from other cities to go, too, but since no one leaves Pallet... well... "

"Why are you telling me, anyway?" Misty interrupted inquisitively. "Not that I don't appreciate that you called, but it's not like you to be so... fidgety about stuff like this. You're usually the first one to jump at these kinds of things. You're Ash 'life of the party' Ketchum and all that."

Ash pulled his hat further down to cover his eyes, and groaned in despair. "It's the first time I've decided to go since leaving the place. Mom's made it... non-negotiable," he grumbled, eliciting a laugh from the other end of the call.

"The big bad Ash Ketchum, future Pokémon Master, is being made to go home for the big biennial Pallet Town jamboree because his _Mommy_ said so?" Misty simpered, laughing as she watched Ash's face grow redder from under his hat.

"Cut it out, Misty!" He growled at the screen, pushing his hat back up. "It's not like I wanna go, but I made a promise to Mom... and I guess I can't really go back on my promise. She was crying and everything!" He exclaimed before muttering under his breath, "not sure how genuine it was, though."

Misty smiled at the look on Ash's face and leant her head on her upwards palm. "That's very noble of you, Ash. I'm impressed. But I still have no clue why you're telling me this. Unless you just want to vent, or something. If so, you should probably call Brock. He'd be much more sympathetic."

The boy sighed and looked up at the ceiling, silently begging some higher power to crush him where he sat. Anything would've been better than _this_.

"Mom said... I had to bring a _date_." He said, the grimace over his face explaining more than enough. "I thought maybe you could help me? Either help find me a date or..." he paused and peeked up at the screen, "you could... be my date? Uh, just as friends and stuff! Like a friend date!"

Misty's eyes widened at the question. "Uh, sure, I'll do it. No problem. I'll be your 'friend date'. Say, we'll meet up in Viridian in three days." She asked before watching as Ash let out a gust of air he'd been holding in anxiously. "But I'll only be there for a price."

On the other end, Ash smiled wanly, as if he expected her answer. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. I'll get it for you. Viridian, three days, I'll be there."

She smiled brightly before continuing her interrogation. "What's the big deal anyway? So you have to bring a date home to your Mother? You're a big boy now, aren't you?" She teased, never one to let an opportunity go.

Ash hesitated before talking. "It's sort of not my Mom I'm worried about."

The brought a giggle from Misty's lips. "Who could _possibly_ be worse than your Mom when it comes to girls? Professor Oak? _Gary_?"

"Oh... uh, no one special. Just, um... the rest of my family." He stammered out as quickly as possible before closing his eyes tightly. He would be surprised if Misty even understood what he'd said.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Ash was momentarily afraid to open his eyes to see what reaction he'd receive.

It wasn't everyday that you told one of your best friend's that you had pretty much lied about your entire family for the entire friendship. Though... it wasn't as if he'd _lied_ per say. He just omitted some crucial details about his childhood... and his _entire life_. No, Misty couldn't be that angry. It wasn't like it was a big deal! It wasn't even like she cared... that... much.

Oh, who was he kidding?

Though surprisingly, _not_ as he predicted, she looked more amused than anything.

"Very funny, Ash, really." She replied sarcastically before laughing. "Have you been taking pranking lessons from that Barry kid again? You should stop, though. He's obviously not a very good teacher," she said, smirking.

"Wha... what?" Ash stuttered, not expecting the response. Fire, and brimstone, and a ferocious Kingdra's Hydro Pump to the face, sure! But he didn't think he'd get _amusement_ of all things. "I'm not making it up, Misty! Really! I just never told anyone about them..."

Misty's eyebrow raised once more, "there's no need to keep the charade up, Ash. I know you're making it up. I've been to your house heaps of times, and I've never once seen another being living there besides your mom and Mimey." She sighed and shook her head. "Give it up, you're obviously not meant to be a prankster. Stick to Pokémon battles, will you? You're good at them."

Ash groaned loudly, eliciting a quick shush from the Nurse Joy behind the counter. "It's not a joke, Misty! I'm being completely truthful here, okay? I've got three brothers, and a sister, and a dad. I'm not all that close with them, I guess, but I'm telling the truth, Misty." He pleaded, leaning closer and closer to the screen as he did so. "Please believe me."

"God, Ash, back up a little. I'd rather not see up your nose," the red head sighed and shook her head, "and there's really no need to create such an elaborate background for your little story. I've caught you out." She said and paused, "unless you have... proof, or something." Misty smirked from over the phone, causing Ash to run a hand down his face.

The boy shook his head in exasperation. "Fine, you wanna see proof? I've got proof," he spat out before fumbling with his backpack. Out of the backpack came a wallet, and out of the wallet came a well worn photograph. Ash tiredly held the picture up to the camera.

While not the perfect angle for picture viewing, he figured that it'd be good enough to convince her.

All that Misty could see, however, was the blurry forms of a much younger Ash, Delia, two more shadowy figures around the same size, and a Christmas tree.

"Uh, that's only two of my siblings... and Dad wasn't there that holiday."

There was silence on the other end of the call. Ash hesitantly pulled the photograph away to stare at the screen once more. He cringed at the appearance of a frowning Misty. Yeah... that was the reaction he was expecting from the start.

"Rest of your family, huh?" She grounded out, her eyes narrowed into slits directed straight at him.

"Well, I sort of have a few brothers, and a sister, and my dad, too. I haven't seen any of them for seven years, and I'm really, _really_ sorry I didn't tell you, Misty! I didn't think it'd be such a big deal!"

Misty shook her head in irritated exasperation. "Typical Ash," she grumbled out before addressing him again. "I still... don't entirely believe you, Ash." She growled. "I mean, why would you keep your entire family a secret for so long? Am I not that close to you...?" She questioned hesitantly, still unsure whether to believe him or not.

"Of course you are, Misty," he replied and groaned in frustration. "It's just a little personal. I've never been all that close to my family, and other than my mom, I've never really spent much time with them. For as long as I can remember, they've all been off becoming amazing Pokémon trainers and I was always left as home. I was the _baby_." He spat out with distaste.

The Cerulean City Leader closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Okay, fine. I suppose I'll believe you for now... but if I find out that you are _lying_ to me Ash Ketchum I am booting your butt right back to Unova, okay? Let Iris deal with you!" She exclaimed and huffed. Misty paused when she saw the relieved look pass over Ash's face. "Why the hell didn't you tell me anyway? _Or_ Brock, I assume. And I'm willing to bet that you've kept it a secret from all your friends, too. Does May know? Or Tracey, or Dawn, or Iris and Cilan? I mean, I get that you're not close to your family, fine, but you've purposefully avoided talking about them the whole time I've known you! You've had so many opportunities over the years..." She looked at him sternly. "So _does_ anyone else know? Or have I been the only one kept in the dark?"

"No!" He burst out, earning another shush. He ignored it. "No! No one knows. No one but, ugh, Gary Oak," he growled out, "but that's only because_ his_ big brother was best friend's with_ my_ big brother when they were kids! Otherwise I would've had _nothin'_ to do with him." Ash sighed and pulled his hat off tiredly. "I'm really sorry I didn't say anything. It's just... really difficult living in their shadow. I knew if I wanted to make it big, I needed to do it on my own. Not with their influence helping me."

Misty looked at the young man on the other end of the line with a mixture of pity, anger, and exasperation. It was just like Ash to do something like this! Keep his entire family a complete secret from his best friend for over five years. Just _typical_.

"Fine, fine. You don't need to lecture _me_ about shadows. I've got three gigantic ones that follow me _everywhere_," she murmured to herself before rubbing her eyes exhaustedly and smiling reassuringly back at her friend. Ash smiled hesitantly back. "Now... I'm not saying I believe you completely yet... but who _is_ your family anyway?" She questioned inquisitively. "I mean, if they're as impressive as you say they are, I must've heard of them."

Ash looked at the screen dejectedly once more; the blank look in his eye told her more than his words ever could. "They're amazing. They're legends..." He sighed. "They're Masters."

* * *

"Just for the record," she tells him as soon as he walks through the doors of Viridian's Pokémon Centre, three days later, "I'm still not one hundred percent on board with this whole thing."

Ash stops in his tracks, a few steps from the doors, and looks at her blankly. This, of course, only aggravates the girl more.

"I'm sure you thought that you could just avoid talking to me until today, and I bet that you thought that I would've started believing you by now, too, but it's a bit more serious than that! All I'm saying is that it's a lot to take in, Ash! Especially over a video call – you can't spring that on a girl so easily," she berated as he walked the last few steps to her where she was sitting. She paused as he sat down wearily. "...well?"

He groaned in response. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He muttered. "Gimme a break. It's been a tough week. If I had it my way, I'd still be in Unova."

The frown that blossomed upon the girl's face was deadly. "_Oh_?"

"Ugh, you know I didn't mean it like that, Misty. You know I'm always happy to see you," he said with a smile, bumping his shoulder against hers.

Against her will, a similar smile appeared on her face. "I'd hope so, buster!"

Ash grinned and leant back against the wall. "Uh, sorry for dragging you into this... I know you still think I'm just playing this big joke on you, but I'm being serious." He said, turning his head to look at her. Misty looked back with a furrowed brow. He had the same look in his eyes he got with every match he competed in. The fiercely determined one, that reassured her every single time.

"...okay, Ash. If you say so." She smiled wanly and jumped up. "Right, off we go then!" Misty paused mid-step and spun on her heel to face Ash, who was looking at her expectantly. "You got my compensation?"

Ash laughed and stood up, "of course I do! Who do you take me for? Someone who'd put it off for five years like a jerk?"

Ash and Misty rode their bikes – a brand new, sparkling red one for Misty – all the way to Pallet Town. And they didn't think about the fiasco waiting for them even once.

* * *

**a/n:**_ Welcome to my new story! This is just a tester chapter, I suppose. Just to see how I'll go with it. Please leave me a review if you like it, and please tell me your opinion! Hopefully the next chapter will come out soon, revealing Ash's mysterious family, hehe!_

**edit_: _**_After I posted the original chapter, I received a really helpful review from** rubyminuszero**. Their review really helped me! When I get a good, well thought out piece of constructive criticism (that isn't a flame, of course! or simply petty) I take it to heart, and review the changes I may need to make! That's what I did with this piece, and I'm glad I did. So, this is a much revised version of the original first chapter. I hope it's a lot better than the original! Thanks again, **rubyminuszero**!_


	2. two

The dusty road going through Pallet was oddly quiet as the duo biked into town. The streets were bare, the stores were closed, and not a sound could be heard for miles.

The pair stopped their bikes in the middle of a usually crowded street and looked around with confusion. They shared a worried look before pushing their bikes to a nearby park bench. Pikachu jumped out of the basket in front of Misty's bike and ran off to explore.

"Where is everyone?" Misty asked breathlessly, breaking the silence. Ash brought a water bottle out of his bag and tossed it to her before answering.

"Not sure. I haven't been back for so long 'round this time of year. Maybe it's a tradition thing? Like, no one leaves their house the week before the festival?" He chuckled to himself before smirking at her. "Or maybe a Genesect followed me here from Unova and has been terrorising the town?" He just ducked in time as the bottle went flying at his head.

"That is _not_ funny, Ash!" Misty exclaimed, wrapping her arms around herself and shuddering. "It's the worst legendary ever," she grumbled to herself as Ash laughed and picked the bottle up.

"Don't be such a baby," he teased as he sat down. "But I really don't have any clue where everyone is. I've never seen Pallet Town this empty..."

"Well maybe that's why I'm the prodigal son, while you're still itty bitty baby Ketchum?"

Misty squeaked, spun around – nearly knocking her bike over in the process – and blinked in surprise. "_Gary?_"

Ash could only groan. "You're still going to call me that?" He asked as he twisted around on the park bench.

Standing behind them with Pikachu on his shoulder and a smirk on his face was Gary Oak. Well, that would technically be Professor Gary Oak. Ash failed to muffle a mocking laugh as Pikachu bounded over to his trainer.

"That lab coat still looks stupid on you, Gary."

He can faintly hear Misty sigh in the background before his rival responded with a mocking look of hurt on his face, "Damn, that one really cut deep. Been sleeping on that one for a while now, I guess?"

The unimpressed look on Ash's face was more than an answer. He was just about to open his mouth to retort when Misty jumped in between them, held up her hands to both and shook her head quickly. "Nope. Nu uh. No way. This is technically a holiday for me, so you two are not going to _ruin_ this by _squabbling_ like my _sisters_!" She exclaimed forcefully, looking between them as she said so. "Got it?"

The two boys could do nothing but nod their head hesitantly. Misty sighed, relieved, before announcing that she was going to have a look around, and to behave while she was gone.

Once Misty was out of sight Gary slowly walked around to the other side of the bench and sat down on the seat next to Ash. The two boys eyed each other for a few seconds before smirking and relaxing. When it came down to it, they were generally okay with each other. Especially after all they'd been through together.

"So..." Ash started as he stroked the dozing Pikachu in his lap, "do you know why no one is around? It's as empty as Lavender Town on Halloween."

Gary laughed, "yeah, looks the way, doesn't it?" He shook his head in amusement and hooked his arms around the back of the seat before stretching out. "Nah, nothing that weird going on. Today is a public holiday in Pallet."

Ash sat up quickly, "public holiday? Since when?"

The Pokémon researcher scoffed. "Since five years ago when the whole town complained that they never got enough time to spend with family during the festival. They caused such a ruckus that the Mayor give in," he snickered. "So everyone just spends today at home, catching up with visiting family and stuff like that. Everything should be back to normal tomorrow."

Ash narrowed his eyes at Gary suspiciously. "And how do _you_ know that?"

Gary smirked. "Because I'm a good boy who comes home for the holiday."

He received a blank look in return. "Good boy my ass."

Gary laughed loudly before a comfortable silence settled over the two of them. The two boys hadn't had the time to see each other in a while – certainly not as much as they did when they were both travelling Kanto and Johto.

But they both understood that neither of them really had as much time as they used to. With Ash conquering whatever region was next on his list, and Gary jumping from laboratory to laboratory, it was a miracle that they had both made it home for the holiday.

But as Ash sat there revering in the afternoon sun with his best Pokémon friend, and his best childhood friend, he could almost say he missed the simpler days.

Until the childhood best friend opened his mouth.

"So, _Fanta_, huh?"

Ash turned his head and raised an eyebrow in question, not quite seeing where Gary was going, especially by way of the grin plastered on the brunet's face.

"What? Oh, Misty, yeah. So what?"

Gary snickered in response. "Bringing your girlfriend home to meet the family, huh? Boy, what a reunion that'll be!" He exclaimed and threw his head back, laughing. "I can't imagine your old man is going to be too accepting."

"Don't even start about my dad, Gary. I'd rather avoid that confrontation for as soon as possible." He sighed. "And I asked Misty because Mom said I had to bring a date. God only knows why, though."

This elicited a snort from his friend. "So you went crawling to Gingerbread? I would've hooked you up with one of my old cheerleaders, man. Then you would've been able to keep the deep, dark secret of your mom's horrible brood away from the chick you dig." He failed to bite back a laugh, "she's gonna run screaming when she meets the horrifying Ketchums, you know."

Ash's response was to bury his face into his hands and groan. Pikachu made a noise of annoyance as he was jostled before settling back down into a doze. "Oh don't you worry, I know." He stayed in the same position for a few moments before he sat up and looked at Gary with one eyebrow raised. "And those were your brother's cheerleaders and you know it."

The youngest Oak just waved the insult off just as Misty came back, holding a newspaper in her hand and a chocolate bar in her mouth. "Who are whose cheerleaders?" She asked as she walked closer, her voice muffled.

Ash shook his head, "you don't wanna know."

Misty simply shrugged and swallowed the rest of her chocolate before opening the newspaper absentmindedly. "So, it's Pallet Day?"

Gary chuckled and nodded, "yep. Speaking of, I gotta dash. I'm meeting Green and Daisy at Gramp's lab." He stood up, scratched Pikachu behind the ears, and waved as he made his way down the road, but not before getting one more dig in. "Have fun with the Ketchum's, lovebirds!" He called out. His laughter could be heard down the street long after he was out of sight.

Once Gary was gone, Ash looked over at Misty and stifled a laugh at the sight of her bright red face. She whipped her head around and glared at him. "Shut up, Ash!"

This time, Misty had nothing to throw at her travelling partner, and Ash was glad for it. The two sat in comfortable silence for a little while longer simply soaking up the afternoon Pallet sunshine, feeling the cool sea breeze from the south wash over them, hearing the pleasant chirps of the Pidgey in the trees above them.

"_You_ warned me about your family," Misty broke the silence quietly. "And Gary seems amused by the idea of me meeting them... are they really that bad?"

Ash sighed. "You have _no_ idea."

* * *

There was screaming coming from inside the house when they approached. The Ketchum family home was never all that big. It was small and quaint – perfect for a single mother and her young son. That was what Misty first assumed. Apparently, there were many more people who called the small cottage home.

Misty tugged on Ash's sleeve. "How many people are going to be here again?" She whispered furiously. "Because, no offence, it sounds like a freaking circus in there!"

Ash laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, we're a few days late so everyone should be here already, so that makes... six? More if they brought dates, too. And then there's me and you – so around about eight or nine all up."

The leader shook her head quickly, "no way is there only six people in there, Ash!"

A loud crash followed by a high pitched voice could be heard berating someone from within.

"You idiot you're supposed to go left, left, right, up, select, _down_ not left, left, right, up, select, _across_!"

"Oh my god, shut up you hag, lemme just play _my_ game _my_ way!"

"Oh, hell no! Those psychic brats from Hoenn are _not_ beating me again at PokéKart just because you can't remember the right move combo!"

Misty sent a concerned look in Ash's direction. The boy could only shrug and step up to the door. Just as he went to turn the doorknob, all activity inside the house came to a stop. Not a sound could be heard from within. Ash had turned around and looked at Misty, concern etched over his face, when the front door was nearly ripped off from its hinges.

Standing side by side in the doorway was a girl and a boy. They appeared to be seventeen, with matching caramel coloured hair, brown eyes, and identical mischievous grins. They were clearly twins, and they were clearly Ash's siblings.

After a moment or two of complete silence on all parties' behalves, Ash broke the silence.

"So uh, hey guys."

He barely had time to get that out before the full blown, full frontal verbal attack.

"Long time since I've seen _you_, Ashy!"

"Been far too long, little bro! Where've ya been?"

"Jeeze, you didn't even _think_ about ringing, did you?"

"Pretty dickish move you pulled, leaving me with the harpy and the douchebags."

"Mom's been worried sick!"

"And you run off with this hot tamale. She's the Cerulean Gym leader, isn't she? Yeah, I battled her once! I won, too."

Once they had run out of insults and questions, the twins reluctantly let them come inside, eyeing the duo as they did so. Pikachu immediately bounded over to two more Pikachu who were sleeping on a set of Pokémon beds.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Ashy?" The girl questioned as she stuck her hip out and crossed her arms while gesturing her head towards Misty.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Misty, these are my twin siblings," he introduced and pointed at the girl, "that's Leaf," he pointed at the boy, "and that's Fire. There's only one year between us, but they act as though there's five."

Fire walked up to Misty loftily before grasping her hand and smiling at her charmingly, "now, I'm not sure if you remember me, but I battled you a while ago! I suppose I was just a precocious thirteen year old back then." He looked over at Ash and smirked, "probably about the same height Ash is now."

The sixteen year old – who was certainly not the height of a thirteen year old, thank you very much – glared at his elder brother, but otherwise said nothing as his sister inspected him.

"You really haven't done a good job in looking after yourself, Ashy. How long have you had this jacket? A month, I bet. It's practically falling to pieces." Leaf berated as she walked around him, plucking at his clothes as she went. Ash desperately wanted to go see how Misty was faring with Fire not so subtly hitting on her, but when Leaf started... "Mom's not going to be happy, you know." She remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Leaf opened her mouth to continue when a blaring sound came from the television where a brightly flashing game was previously set on pause. "Oh crap!" She exclaimed, rushing back to her seat on the couch. "Fire, get your ass over here! Tate and Liza did their weird psychic mind tricks and unpaused us!"

Ash looked over at Fire but he appeared to be in deep flirtation with Misty, and it seemed as though he hadn't even heard her over the sound of the video game. Or he was just ignoring her.

The noise only escalated when Leaf started yelling at the screen, swearing that she would swim to Hoenn to beat the twins up if they defeated her.

Ash debated going over to help his sister for a moment before a new dainty voice chimed in with Leaf's.

"Ehehehe, yeah! Suck it!"

Sitting on the couch was a girl, sixteen, with her brown hair in pigtails, completely and utterly dominating the game with an innocent smile on her face.

"_Lyra_?"

WINNER flashed on the screen and Leaf let out a whoop of excitement before running off to berate Fire. The other girl in question twisted around on the couch and grinned at Ash.

"Hey, Ash! Long time no see, huh?"

"What are you doing here?" He exclaimed. Last time he'd seen Lyra, she was leaving to finish gaining all her Johto badges. The last place her expected to see her was here.

Lyra giggled and replied, "silly! I'm here with your brother but he's sleeping now, the big dork – right in the middle of the day, too. I tell him over and over that he shouldn't stay up so late!" She said. "Anyway, we met up in Blackthorn and he invited me to come meet his family," She shook her head, "I never expected that he meant you, Ash! Are you here with Dawn?"

Ash shook his head dumbly. "Uh, no, with Misty," he muttered, and pointed at the red head, who had finally been released from Fire's yapping thanks to Leaf, and was making her way over to the couch. The twins could be heard fighting in the background.

"Oooh, she's the one you like, isn't she!" Lyra exclaimed. "Brock told me all about her!"

Ash sent a panicked look Lyra's way, silently begging her to shut up.

"You like who?" Misty asked as she got closer.

Once more, Ash could only mumble something, causing a frown to appear on Misty's face. Lyra simply grinned.

The Cerulean Leader opened her mouth to say something, when the sound of the door closing upstairs made everyone in the room freeze.

"Who's...?" Misty started to ask, but Ash quickly shushed her.

The floor boards from upstairs creaked as someone slowly made their way down the hallway, to the staircase, down the stairs and into the living room.

Misty certainly didn't expect the elusive eldest Ketchum brother to be so... underwhelming.

Nor so serious.

Nor so _famous_.

Together, in near perfect unison, the two obvious females in the room stood there in shock.

"You're **Red**!"

* * *

_**a/n:** There we go! Chapter two! I have a few notes, so please read! They're important!_

_one – I updated chapter one. So anyone who reviewed when I first posted this story, you may be a little confused? Maybe. I suggest going back and rereading! It's a lot longer this time. _

_two – These are **no** original characters in this story. The only one that could possibly could would be Fire, and that's just due to his name. Everyone else has a canon design in some way or form. _

_three – There's a lot of back story to this fic, so please bare with! All the characters will be revealed in due time! Speaking of, so far we have – _

_**Red**, nineteen, manga and games (first generation design/pixiv design)_. _**Fire**, seventeen, games (third generation design). __**Leaf**, seventeen, manga and games (third generation design + pokespe design). __**Unknown Half Brother**, sixteen, manga and games, and __**Ash**, sixteen, anime._

_I hope that clears it up so far!_


End file.
